Pokemon Sword and Shield Launches Pokedex Completion Wild Area Event

Pokemon Sword and Shield players can now battle and capture version-exclusive Pokemon in Max Raid Battles to help complete their Pokedex. Earlier today, the Pokemon Company launched a special "Pokedex Completion" Raid Event featuring version exclusive Pokemon from both Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. Pokemon Sword players will be able to battle Pokemon like Ponyta, Corsola, Oranguru, and Mandibuzz in raids, while Pokemon Shield players can find Pokemon like Sirfetch'd, Darumuka, Passimian, and Braviary in raids. These Pokemon are usually exclusive to either Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield, but players will have until March 25th to find these Pokemon in Max Raid Battles. Also included in the event are the male and female versions of Indeedee (each of which is exclusive to one version of the game), and Accelgor and Escavalier, which typically only evolve by trading their pre-evolved forms Karrablast and Shelmet for one another.

Thanks to the Max Raid Battles and online trading, it's a lot easier to complete your Pokedex in Pokemon Sword and Shield, especially as there's only 400 Pokemon species to collect. Prior to this event, players could hop online and find Max Raid Battles from other games in order to round out their Pokedex. Of course, version exclusive Max Raid Battles tended to fill up quickly, so this event gives more players the opportunity to grab that pesky Pokemon that has eluded capture. The reward for completing the Galar Pokedex is a Shiny Charm, which increases the likelihood of finding a Shiny in the wild or through other manners of obtaining Pokemon.

Pokemon Sword and Shield players can also currently battle the Gigantamax versions of Snorlax, Machamp, and Gengar until March 25th, Both Gigantamax Machamp and Gengar are usually exclusive to one version, so this event is a great way to grab some Pokemon you usually wouldn't be able to in your Pokemon game.